As consumers are nudged from all sides to switch to battery electric cars, it is no surprise that some car manufactures are launching more affordable products on the market that can appeal to a wider audience.
Renault has been amongst the first to successfully capture the market with the popular ZOE launched in 2013.
The “new” ZOE, a facelift introduced in 2020, received several battery improvements but no added safety.
On the contrary, the seat-mounted side airbag which previously protected head and thorax has been replaced by a less effective thorax-only airbag, representing a degradation in occupant protection.
The new ZOE offers poor protection in crashes overall, poor vulnerable road user protection and lacks meaningful crash avoidance technology, disqualifying it for any stars.
